Incorporating a formalized recognition program into your talent management initiatives could be the key to preventing good people from leaving your company.
I analyzed four cloud (or web) based systems that I think provide innovative functionality for employee recognition along with robust reporting and analytics features to sell the business benefits of recognition programs.
Rypple is the social performance management platform that Salesforce acquired last year. The system goes beyond recognition functionality with tools for goal setting and project management for teams and individuals. Users can set objectives, see how projects align with the organization, and track progress. Along the way, anyone can give recognition employees for great work.
Kudos is solely an employee engagement and recognition platform. Employees post “kudos” to the Twitter-like feed stating the reason for the award in 140 characters or less. Awards are given in point increments, which employees can then redeem through an external rewards program or an in-house rewards system. Managers can also use the system to provide employees with constructive feedback.
Achievers combines rewards and social networking technologies. The peer-to-peer, points-based system encourages open recognition from company leaders, managers and individual contributors. Any employee can recognize another by posting to the news feed, or they can reward each other using their allocated points. Users also have the ability to earn more points by taking actions that have a direct impact on the company’s business objectives. For example, a user can earn points by referring a qualified candidate for an open position or by saving the company money.
Globoforce ties specific manager-approved rewards to a corporate goal or value. Administrators and managers can identify top performers based on reward value and the number of awards. They can also see how their team members give recognition to each other as well as to individuals outside the team, and determine if an employee’s performance value (what he or she is contributing) is aligned with the recognition they’ve received.
Jennifer King is an HR Analyst at Software Advice, a website that reviews and compares HR and workforce management software. See her full analysis on her HR blog: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/hr/recognition-software-1070312/
Keys to Performance 
Thanks for identifying and reporting on these systems. Very good point about how a recognition program could be the key to preventing good people from leaving.